Jigsaw Puzzle

ABSTRACT

There is provided a jigsaw puzzle comprising pieces which are formed based on a quadrilateral which resembles approximately a square having four sides which are each approximately 7 mm to 9 mm long, the pieces comprising a combination of a large number of basic pieces  11  in which four sides of each piece are formed into curved sides which are curved slightly and in which a pair of confronting sides of the four sides have individually a projecting portion  21  and the other pair of confronting sides have individually a recess portion  23,  several tens of side pieces in which a side is formed into a straight side while the remaining three sides are formed into curved sides and the curved side which confronts the straight side has a projecting portion or a recess portion, while the remaining two sides have individually a recess portion or a projecting portion, and four corner pieces in which two adjacent sides are individually formed into a straight side, while the remaining two sides are individually formed into a curved side, and one of the remaining two curved sides has a projecting portion, while the other has a recess portion.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a jigsaw puzzle.

2. Description of the Related Art

In these days, many jigsaw puzzles are used in which many pieces havingrecesses and projections on their own peripheries are assembled.

In these jigsaw puzzles, the joining of those pieces is limited byrecessed and projecting shapes formed on the peripheries of the pieces.In addition, since a predetermined picture is shown when all the piecesare assembled correctly, the assemblage of the pieces is determined bydrawings drawn on the individual pieces or colors of the pieces.

In addition, these jigsaw puzzles are provided in various sizes,including the poster size and A4 size, which are realized when all thepieces are joined and assembled correctly to solve the puzzles. Thenumber of pieces varies in accordance with sizes of puzzles, and jigsawpuzzles consisting of several hundreds to on the order of a thousandpieces are provided for adults, while jigsaw puzzles consisting ofseveral tens to on the order of a hundred pieces are provided forchildren or beginners. Thus, various jigsaw puzzles are prepared whichare different in the number of pieces and size realized when pieces areassembled together correctly.

Jigsaw puzzles are not limited to those which consist of an intricateand fine picture which is printed on, for example, large cardboard andcut into many various pieces that have to be fitted together for fun,and there are other types of jigsaw puzzles. For example, JapaneseUnexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-224839 proposes a jigsaw puzzlewhich can be used as a postcard or letter-card. In addition, forexample, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-104136 proposesa small jigsaw puzzle which can be used as a coaster.

In the conventional jigsaw puzzles which are as small as a letter-cardwhen pieces are assembled together, however, there are only a relativelysmall number of pieces like just more than ten to several tens, andtherefore, since the assemblage of pieces is relatively easy, the piecescan be assembled together in a short period of time. Thus, when playedwith as a puzzle, it has often been a case with the small jigsaw puzzlesthat players get tired of them.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention was made with a view to eliminating the drawbackwhich is inherent in the conventional small jigsaw puzzles, and anobject thereof is to provide a jigsaw puzzle which can be made up ofseveral hundreds of pieces even though it is in the letter-card size,which can continue to be played with for fun by assembling pieces due tothere being such a large number of pieces involved, which is small as awhole when the pieces are assembled, which is easy to be carried anddisplayed, and which can represent a lovely decorative picture.

According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a jigsawpuzzle comprising pieces which are formed based on a quadrilateral whichresembles approximately a square having four sides which are eachapproximately 7 mm to 9 mm long, the pieces comprising a combination ofa large number of basic pieces in which four sides of each piece areformed into curved sides which are curved slightly and in which a pairof confronting sides of the four sides have individually a projectingportion and the other pair of confronting sides have individually arecess portion, several tens of side pieces in which a side is formedinto a straight side, a curved side which confronts the straight sidehas a projecting portion or a recess portion, and two sides lying atends of the straight side have individually a recess portion or aprojecting portion in such a way as to be in contrast to the confrontingcurved side, and four corner pieces in which two adjacent sides areindividually formed into a straight side, while the remaining two sidesare individually formed into a curved side, and one of the remaining twocurved sides has a projecting portion, while the other has a recessportion, wherein when all the pieces are assembled, a picture is shownas a whole on surfaces of the pieces so assembled.

In addition, the projecting portions are made to project approximately 2mm to 3 mm with proximal portions of the projecting portions being madethinner than intermediate portions of the projecting portions and areformed into a plurality of different projecting shapes whoseconfigurations and sizes vary depending upon the types of pieces, andthe recess portions are made to be recessed approximately 2 mm to 3 mmwith entrance portions of the recess portions being made narrower thanintermediate portions of the recess portions and are formed into aplurality of different recessed shapes whose configurations and sizesvary depending upon the types of pieces.

Further, a pair of tweezers having a length of several centimeters iscombined with the jigsaw puzzle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a drawing which shows a basic piece of a jigsaw puzzleaccording to the invention,

FIG. 2 is a drawing which shows individual types of pieces of the jigsawpuzzle according to the invention, and

FIG. 3 is a drawing which shows the entirety of the jigsaw puzzleaccording to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A jigsaw puzzle according to the invention consists of pieces which areformed based on a piece which has, as is shown in FIG. 1, a shape whichresembles substantially a square in which lengths L1 and L2 definedbetween adjacent corner portions of the square which configure fourcorners thereof are each about 8 mm or a shape which resemblessubstantially a quadrilateral in which a pair of confronting sides aremade slightly longer than the other pair of confronting sides of thequadrilateral, and four sides of the square of quadrilateral areindividually formed into a curved side which is slightly curved.

In addition, a projecting portion 21 is formed on each of the pair ofconfronting curved sides of the piece and a recess portion 23 is formedon each of the other pair of confronting curved sides of the piece, andthe piece having the projecting portions 21 and the recess portions 23is made into a basic piece 11. The jigsaw puzzle of the inventionconsists of just more than 200 pieces as a whole which include a hundredand several tens of such basic pieces 11, four corner pieces 13 whichresemble the basic piece 11 and several tens of side pieces 15, 16, andparts of a picture are drawn individually on surfaces of the constituentpieces in such a manner that the picture is shown as a whole on thesurfaces of the pieces when all the pieces are assembled correctly.

As is shown in FIG. 2A, the corner piece 13, which has the shape whichresembles substantially the basic piece 11, is formed, as with the basicpiece 11, into a shape which resembles substantially a square in whichlengths defined between adjacent corner portions of the square whichconfigure four corners thereof are each referred to as being on theorder of about 8 mm or a shape which resembles substantially aquadrilateral in which a pair of confronting sides are made slightlylonger than the other pair of confronting sides of the quadrilateral,and adjacent sides of the square of quadrilateral are each formed into astraight side, while the other two sides are each formed into a curvedside which is curved slightly. In addition, a projecting portion 21 isprovided on one of the curved sides, and a recess portion 23 is providedon the other curved side, and thus, the corner piece 13 is formed intothe piece having the projecting portion 21 on the one curved side andthe recess portion 23 on the other curved portion.

In addition, as is shown in FIGS. 2B and 2C, the side pieces 15, 16 areeach formed into a shape which resembles substantially a square in whichlengths defined between adjacent corner portions of the square whichconfigure four corners thereof are each referred to as being aroundabout 8 mm or a shape which resembles substantially a quadrilateral inwhich a pair of confronting sides are made slightly longer than theother pair of confronting sides of the quadrilateral, and one of foursides of the square or quadrilateral is formed into a straight side,while the other three sides are each formed into a curved side which iscurved slightly.

In addition, the side pieces are classified into the side pieces 15(refer to FIG. 2B) in which the curved side which diametricallyconfronts the straight side has a projecting portion 21 and the curvedsides which lie at ends of the straight side individually have arecessed portion 23 and the side pieces 16 (refer to FIG. 2C) in whichthe curved side which diametrically confronts the straight side has arecess portion 23 and the curved sides which lie at end of the straightside individually have a projecting portion 21.

Further, in these side pieces 15, 16, several tens of side pieces inwhich the side confronting the straight side has the projecting portionand several tens of side pieces in which the side confronting thestraight side has the recess portion are formed in the same number.

In this way, since the jigsaw puzzle of the invention employs the squareor quadrilateral pieces of which each of the four sides has the lengthof the order of about 8 mm, even though approximately 20 rows of morethan 10 pieces are arranged vertically to provide a hundred and severaltens to approximately two hundred pieces for assemblage, the jigsawpuzzle can only be in a size which is approximately 10 cm long andapproximately 10 cm wide.

In addition, a projecting amount L3 of the projecting portion 21 and adepth L4 of the recess portion 23 which are provided on the basic piece11, the corner piece 13 and the side pieces 15, 16 are referred to asbeing approximately 2 mm to 3 mm. Additionally, as is shown in FIG. 1 orthe like, the projecting portion 21 is shaped in such a manner that aproximal portion of the projecting portion 21 is thinner than anintermediate portion of the projecting portion 21, and the recessportion 23 is also shaped in such a manner that an entrance portion ofthe recess portion 23 is narrower in width than an intermediate portionof the recess portion 23.

In addition, the respective projecting portions 21 of the basic piece11, the corner piece 13 and the side pieces 15, 16 are formed into aplurality of shapes which differ slightly in position, shape and size,and the respective recess portions 23 of those pieces are also formedinto a plurality of shapes which differ slightly in position, shape andsize.

Additionally, to prepare those pieces, as is shown in FIG. 3, a piece ofcardboard is used which has a size which is substantially equal to (orslightly smaller than) a letter-card (10 cm×14.8 cm) and a thickness ofthe order of 2 mm, and the piece of cardboard is cut vertically andhorizontally along curved cutting lines which run vertically andhorizontally at intervals of substantially 8 mm as has been describedabove. In these cutting lines, projecting portions are formed along thevertical cutting lines in such a manner as to project alternatelyleftwards and rightwards of the vertical cutting lines every time theyintersect the horizontal cutting lines, and projecting portions areformed along the horizontal cutting lines in such a manner as to projectalternately upwards and downwards of the horizontal cutting lines everytime they intersect the vertical cutting lines.

In this way, when the piece of cardboard having the approximate size tothe letter-card is cut vertically and horizontally to form 18 pieces inthe vertical direction and 12 pieces in the horizontal direction or toform 18 rows of 12 pieces, pieces can be formed which include fourcorner pieces, 26 side pieces in which projecting portions are providedon both sides which lie at ends of a straight side and 26 side pieces inwhich recess portions are provided on both sides which lie at ends of astraight side, and 160 basic pieces. Thus, 216 pieces can be providedeven by the piece of cardboard having the size of the letter-card.

In addition, in the event that the vertical and horizontal cutting linesare arranged at intervals of the order of 9 mm, that is, in the eventthat a quadrilateral which is on the order of 9 mm both in length andwidth is used as a basic piece, the letter-card-sized piece of cardboardcan be cut into 16 pieces in the vertical direction and 11 pieces in thehorizontal direction or into 16 rows of 11 pieces to provide 176 pieces,or 176 can be assembled to form a size approximate to the letter-card.Additionally, in the event that a quadrilateral which is on the order of7 mm both in length and width is used as a base for a basic piece, theletter-card-sized piece of cardboard can be cut into 20 pieces in thevertical direction and 14 pieces in the horizontal direction or into 20rows of 14 pieces to provide 280 pieces, or 280 pieces can be assembledto form a size approximate to the letter-card.

In addition, since various parts of a picture are drawn on frontsurfaces of the constituent pieces of the jigsaw puzzle in such a mannerthat the picture is shown as a whole on the front surfaces of the pieceswhen they are assembled correctly, when the constituent pieces areassembled, the pieces are assembled into the size approximate to theletter-card. Thus, the jigsaw puzzle so completed or solved becomes easyto be displayed on a desk, for example, by the use of a card stand or apicture stand, while the jigsaw puzzle, which is in the size approximateto the letter-card, can consist of several hundreds of pieces to beassembled for fun. Thus, the jigsaw puzzle of the invention can provideboth a lovely and beautiful decorative card and a puzzle which can beplayed with for fun.

In addition, when a piece of cardboard for making a jigsaw puzzle whichis larger in area than a letter-card size is cut into quadrilateralpieces of which each of the four sides is in a range from 7 mm to 9 mm,a number of pieces is extremely large, and thus a level of difficultyfor assembling the puzzle becomes higher and players can enjoy thepuzzle with more fun.

In addition, with the jigsaw puzzle of the invention, since the pieceshave the thickness which falls within a thickness range of 1.5 mm to 2.5mm or around 2 mm, the player can feel a click sensation at the tip ofthe finger when a piece is fitted between pieces. Thus, the player canenjoy feeling the comfortable fitting sensation.

Further, with the jigsaw puzzle of the invention, since each side of theconstituent pieces is referred to as being less than 1 cm, so that thepieces can be formed small in length and width, the assemblage of piecesby the finger tips becomes difficult, and therefore, a pair of tweezers,which is approximately 5 cm to 6 cm long, is preferably combined withthe jigsaw puzzle.

In this way, in the event that the jigsaw puzzle is combined with thepair of tweezers which is several centimeters, that is, approximately 5cm to 6 cm long, the pieces, which are approximately 2 mm thick, can bepinched with the tweezers so that the projecting portions of the piecesare fitted into or removed from the corresponding recess portions of thepieces at all times, whereby the assembling work of the pieces can befacilitated, while the player can enjoy feeling a sensation which is aresisting sensation produced when the pieces are assembled ordisassembled at the tips of the fingers which grip the tweezers.

Thus, as has been described heretofore, with the jigsaw puzzle in whichthe pieces based on the quadrilateral of which each of the four sides isin the range from 7 mm to 9 mm are assembled, the length of each of thesides of the constituent pieces is small, and hence, even when all theconstituent pieces are assembled together, the size approximate to theletter-card can only be realized. Additionally, even with such a smallsize, several hundreds of pieces can be provided so as to make theassemblage of the pieces complex to such an extent that the player canplay the puzzle while enjoying the assemblage of the pieces. Further,since the picture is shown on the surface of the letter-card-sizedjigsaw puzzle when the pieces are assembled together, the jigsaw puzzlecan easily be displayed on a desk or a table, increasing thereby thedegree of freedom in handling the jigsaw puzzle as a decoration.

1. A jigsaw puzzle set comprising pieces which are formed based on aquadrilateral which resembles approximately a square having four sideswhich are each approximately 7 mm to 9 mm long, the pieces comprising acombination of a large number of basic pieces in which four sides ofeach piece are formed into curved sides which are curved slightly and inwhich a pair of confronting sides of the four sides have individually aprojecting portion and the other pair of confronting sides haveindividually a recess portion, several tens of side pieces in which aside is formed into a straight side, a curved side which confronts thestraight side has a projecting portion or a recess portion, and twosides lying at ends of the straight side have individually a recessportion or a projecting portion in such a way as to be in contrast tothe confronting curved side, and four corner pieces in which twoadjacent sides are individually formed into a straight side, while theremaining two sides are individually formed into a curved side, and oneof the remaining two curved sides has a projecting portion, while theother has a recess portion, wherein when all the pieces are assembled, apicture is shown as a whole on surfaces of the pieces so assembled.
 2. Ajigsaw puzzle set as set forth in claim 1, wherein the projectingportions are made to project approximately 2 mm to 3 mm with proximalportions of the projecting portions being made thinner than intermediateportions of the projecting portions and are formed into a plurality ofdifferent projecting shapes whose configurations and sizes varydepending upon the types of pieces, and wherein the recess portions aremade to be recessed approximately 2 mm to 3 mm with entrance portions ofthe recess portions being made narrower than intermediate portions ofthe recess portions and are formed into a plurality of differentrecessed shapes whose configurations and sizes vary depending upon thetypes of pieces.
 3. A jigsaw puzzle set as set forth in claim 1, whereinthe thickness of the pieces is made to range from 1.5 mm to 2.5 mm.
 4. Ajigsaw puzzle set as set forth in claim 2, wherein the thickness of thepieces is made to range from 1.5 mm to 2.5 mm.
 5. A jigsaw puzzle set asset forth in claim 1, wherein a pair of tweezers which is severalcentimeters long is combined with the jigsaw puzzle.